Madeleine L’Engle

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3 (NIV)

Earlier this week I was reading about new discoveries in the scientific community relating to physics. Wendy and I have enjoyed long conversations through the years about our faith and science. I credit Wendy with introducing me to the writings and works of Madeleine L’Engle, whose fiction and non-fiction writings both explore the intersection of these two disciplines which have famously warred with one another through the centuries. Wendy and I don’t feel tremendous conflict between the two. Faith that denies science is foolish, as is science that denies its inherent faith. For Wendy and me, our creative imaginations find all sorts of fascinating correlations that complement both.

What I read earlier this week dealt with the theory of relativity and time. It explored the idea of parallel realities and time existing in different dimensions. The possibilities are mind blowing, and it makes me shake my head in gleeful wonder. Despite all that we’ve learned throughout history, I sense that we have only scratched the surface of the depth and complexity that our Creator wove into all creation. As for things existing at once in different dimensions, that’s already hinted at in God’s story.

The verse above from Paul’s letter to the Jesus followers in Ephesus is one of my favorites to chew on in the same vein with which I chew on my rudimentary understanding of relativity and quantum theory. We live on this earth in the moment, our lives bound by the realities of flawed humanity, sickness, conflict, tragedy, and monotony. At the same moment, according to this verse, we have been (past tense) blessed in heavenly realms (is this what science would call another dimension in another or outside of our present time?) with every spiritual blessing in Christ. We exist simultaneously in different realities, bound in earthly time and blessed in spiritual eternity. Talk about mind blowing.

Today, as I write this, we are celebrating Good Friday when Jesus was beaten and crucified. For those of faith, we believe that on the cross and in the empty tomb that was to follow on Sunday morning, there was a fundamental shift in both the earthly and spiritual dimensions which forever altered our present earthly reality and the reality of our standing in the spiritual dimension/realm that exists beyond time. While I do not claim to understand it all, I have faith in the glimpse of it I have been given, and once again I shake my head in the wonder of it all.

Lessons Learned in Time (tomvanderwell.wordpress.com)
Pursuit of Happiness #27 (tomvanderwell.wordpress.com)
Chapter-a-Day Hebrews 1 (tomvanderwell.wordpress.com)
Chapter-a-Day John 9 (tomvanderwell.wordpress.com)

Note to readers: This is an old post from back in 2008 that got lost in my “Drafts” folder and was never published. So, I’m publishing it today. Better late than never. Cheers!

Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Luke 24:25 (TM)

For the past fifteen years I’ve worked with a consulting firm that believes in following Biblical principles. Because of those principles, we never sign long term contracts with any client. One year at a time. That’s it. Towards the end of every year, we begin working on the following year’s contracts. Hopefully, we’ve brought measurable value to our clients and they want us back the next year. But, I don’t know that for sure.

Some members of our consulting group are often anxious this time of year. You can see the wheels spinning behind their eyes. Will I have work next year? Will we have enough renewal business? Will I be able to pay my bills? Should I get my resume together?

As an employer, I can’t give them assurances. I can only encourage them to have faith.

Faith. Simple belief. Being sure of what you hope for. Trusting in what you can’t see. Faith can be scary. Faith involves risk. If you want to be assured of a certain income, then you probably don’t want to work for our group. Of course, if you’re assured a certain income, then you’re probably not going to make any more than you expect, either.

When you operate on faith, the outcome is unlimited. If you simply believe, if you are willing to follow where your faith takes you and do the work required, then there is no limit to how much you might eventually profit.

Faith is requirement for this journey. Following Jesus is, at the core, a faith journey. As Madeleine L’Engle said, “Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”